Abstract
BackgroundPhysical activity (PA) guidelines for early childhood have been established worldwide, and adherence to PA guidelines has been utilized to assess the effectiveness of policies regarding PA promotion. Although there is a Japanese PA guideline for preschoolers, little is known about adherence to this recommendation. This study examined and compared proportions of meeting the Japanese PA guideline among preschoolers.MethodsParticipants comprised 821 children aged 3–6 years from all 21 preschools and childcare facilities (hereafter collectively “preschools”) within Unnan City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Data on PA levels were collected through a parent-report questionnaire in accordance with the Japanese PA guideline. This guideline recommends that preschoolers perform PA for at least 60 minutes every day. Analyses included descriptive statistics, chi-squared, and Mann–Whitney’s tests to compare adherence to the PA guideline.ResultsData of 441 participants from 20 preschools were analyzed. Of these, 292 (66.2%) preschoolers met the PA guideline. Boys (70.2%) showed a significantly higher proportion of meeting the PA guideline than girls (61.2%; P = 0.048). Proportions of meeting the PA guideline among preschool grades were not statistically different. Prevalence rates of meeting the PA guideline among 20 preschools considerably varied from 14.3% to 100% (P = 0.007).ConclusionsTwo-thirds of preschoolers met the Japanese PA guideline, while adherence to PA recommendations differed between genders. Moreover, there were distinct variations of adherence to PA guideline among preschools. Possible determinants that cause the differences in adherence to the PA guideline at the individual and preschool-levels should be further evaluated.
Highlights
The preschool-aged period plays an important role to establish fundamental physical activity (PA) levels, and acquired PA habits would track from early childhood into their later life.1 Higher levels of PA in preschool-aged children are associated with several physical and psychosocial health benefits, such as obesity prevention, bone and skeletal health, motor skill development, reduced cardiovascular disease risks, and increased cognitive development, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior.2–5 preschoolers’ adherence to PA guidelines provides useful information that helps policy makers understand their PA levels
Since there are different PA guidelines worldwide, each country has separately investigated its proportions of children during early childhood who adhered to its own PA guidelines
Our results showed that 66.2% of the preschoolers adhered to the Japanese PA guideline for children in early childhood
Summary
The preschool-aged period (mostly encompassing 3–5 years of age) plays an important role to establish fundamental physical activity (PA) levels, and acquired PA habits would track from early childhood into their later life. Higher levels of PA in preschool-aged children are associated with several physical and psychosocial health benefits, such as obesity prevention, bone and skeletal health, motor skill development, reduced cardiovascular disease risks, and increased cognitive development, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior. preschoolers’ adherence to PA guidelines provides useful information that helps policy makers understand their PA levels. The preschool-aged period (mostly encompassing 3–5 years of age) plays an important role to establish fundamental physical activity (PA) levels, and acquired PA habits would track from early childhood into their later life.. Since there are different PA guidelines worldwide, each country has separately investigated its proportions of children during early childhood who adhered to its own PA guidelines.. In Japan, the PA guideline for preschoolers aged 3–6 years, a document called “Youjiki Undo Shishin,” has been released by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in 2012.10 In the Japanese PA guideline, the MEXT provides question items to measure PA levels among preschoolers. Physical activity (PA) guidelines for early childhood have been established worldwide, and adherence to PA guidelines has been utilized to assess the effectiveness of policies regarding PA promotion. There is a Japanese PA guideline for preschoolers, little is known about adherence to this recommendation. This study examined and compared proportions of meeting the Japanese PA guideline among preschoolers
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